Steven Fletcher pleads not guilty after competency examination

STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A 47-year-old Rhinelander-area man accused of trying to shoot his ex-girlfriend’s son at an apartment complex in the town of Pelican last March withdrew a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to plead not guilty Tuesday in Oneida County Circuit Court.

Steven J. Fletcher, who is free on a $30,000 cash bond, had been ordered by Judge Michael H. Bloom to undergo a competency examination. Fletcher is scheduled back in court Feb. 20 for a pre-trial conference.

According to online court records, Bloom set the next pre-trial conference so if a plea agreement is reached, a plea/sentencing hearing would be scheduled at that time. If no agreement is reached by then, a trial would be scheduled.

Fletcher faces felony charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary as well as misdemeanor counts of possessing of a firearm while intoxicated, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. Upon conviction, the attempted murder charge alone carries a maximum possible penalty of 40 years of initial confinement in prison, followed by 20 years of extended supervision.

Fletcher is accused of being intoxicated the night of March 11 when he drove to an apartment complex on Cranes Road and entered the apartment where he shot at his ex-girlfriend’s son, who then was able to wrestle the gun away from Fletcher and took it to a friend’s apartment.

His ex-girlfriend had been asleep in the apartment when Fletcher allegedly broke in and she woke up to loud bangs and screaming before Fletcher ran out of the residence after having his gun taken away.

The sheriff’s department investigation at the scene found a bullet entered a coffee table inside the apartment along with a wood splinter and lead fragment in the carpet, while a bullet casing was also located in the apartment, according to a sheriff’s department report.

A Ruger semi-automatic pistol reportedly fired in the apartment and wrestled away from Fletcher was also recovered and taken as evidence.